Jarrod Bowen tipped to make England impact, and Hull City heir Keane Lewis-Potter can follow suit
However, Pennock appreciates the speculation could be unsettling for the Hull-born 21-year-old, and says it is important he knows where he stands.
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Hide AdRight-winger Bowen is in England’s squad to face Hungary in Budapest this evening, and with Phil Foden ruled out by Covid-19 and his Manchester City team-mate Raheem Sterling “touch and go”, there is every chance he could make his international debut either as a starter or one of five substitutes.
Given four of England’s last six matches before the World Cup are in the next 10 days, Bowen will be anxious to impress after a season where he scored 18 West Ham United goals and made 13 more.
It is an impressive rise for a player who left Hull in January 2020, five-and-a-half years after joining the East Yorkshire outfit from first club Hereford.
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Hide AdPlaying on the opposite flank, Lewis-Potter has emerged as his heir, his 13 goals and four assists for Hull this season prompting interest from the likes of West Ham, Leicester City and Tottenham Hotspur. Owner Acun Ilicali has said he would not sell for £30m, and Pennock thinks another year of Championship football would be best for all parties.
“£30m is a lot of money for any Championship club to turn down but the owner’s well within his rights because everybody, me included, would love to see another season of Keano in a Hull City shirt,” Pennock told The Yorkshire Post.
“The boy wants to play in the Premier League – who doesn’t? It’s the best league in the world. They need to sort it out sooner rather than later because if clubs are making offers and they’re getting turned down it’s tough for Keano to get his head around it. But I’m sure he and the club will agree on the best way forward.”
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Hide AdLewis-Potter’s contract expires next summer but Hull can trigger a 12-month extension.
Having started coaching in Hull’s academy in 2014, Pennock was on the first-team coaching staff under every manager apart from Marco Silva for the last six years until leaving last month to pursue a career in management.
The parallels between Bowen and Lewis-Potter are clear, but Pennock points out the latter is not yet at the stage Bowen was when West Ham came calling.
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Hide Ad“We couldn’t believe no one had come in for Jarrod earlier,” he recalls. “He had two-and-a-half years in the Championship and scored 50 goals. He was consistent and produced more and more assists on top of his goals so we couldn’t believe we kept him for the first six months (of 2019-20) but we were glad we did.
“Keano’s a bit earlier in his development. He had a season in League One, plus a bit (one league start and 20 substitute appearances) the season we got relegated, but I think he can have another good year in the Championship and then the offers might be around that £30m figure.
“Jarrod’s gone straight into West Ham and been almost ever-present. Would Keano start week in, week out for a Premier League team? I’m not sure. Although did we think Jarrod would hit the ground running so quickly? I don’t think anybody expected it.”
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Hide AdEngland’s injuries are at centre-back, where AC Milan’s Fikayo Tomori and Crystal Palace’s Marc Guehi will miss out on a third and second cap respectively. Tomori spent 2017-18 on loan at Hull.
“Fikayo and Marc Guehi arrived with injuries but are progressing well,” confirmed manager Gareth Southgate. “They won’t be involved but have a chance against Germany (on Tuesday).
“Raheem Sterling has missed a couple of days with illness and he is touch and go.”
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Hide AdBowen and Leicester full-back James Justin are the uncapped members of this squad.
“They are here because they are good players in good form and that adds to the competition,” said Southgate.
England play an entire Nations League group before November 21’s World Cup opener, hosting Italy and Hungary at Molineux on June 11 and 14th then their final two games in September.
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